1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of electric lighting fixtures and more particularly is directed to a universal adapter bracket which facilitates installation of ornamental trim in recessed in-ceiling lighting fixtures having a lamp socket supported on either of two commonly used types of mounting brackets. The invention includes a method for updating the ornamental appearance of existing light fixture installations using the novel universal adapter bracket.
2. State of the Prior Art
In-ceiling recessed lighting, also known as architectural lighting, is widely used and generally consists of light fixtures which are installed in a soffit space defined between a ceiling and a roof of a habitation or other architectural space. The recessed light fixtures include an outer housing in the form of a cylindrical can of sheet metal which is supported between wooden or metallic beams in the ceiling space. The outer housing is connected to an electrical power distribution box by wiring enclosed in metallic conduit. The outer housing is often supplied pre-assembled with a distribution box and electric conduit all mounted on a metal frame for installation as a unit into the ceiling space. The bottom of the outer housing is open and lines up with a hole in the ceiling. Once installed, this unit is hidden from view by the ceiling. The interior of the housing and the unfinished edge of the hole in the ceiling are concealed by ornamental trim which may include an optional light baffle designed to limit the field of illumination of the fixture and other trim elements such as ornamental rings or the like, attached to the bottom of the light baffle or integral therewith for concealing the edge of the hole in the ceiling. Many different trim designs are possible and available, of various materials, colors and finishes, limited only by the imagination of designers in the field. For example, light absorbent surfaces such as corrugated matte black interior baffle surfaces may control internal reflections in the lamp housing. Alternatively, a reflector of generally cylindrical or conically tapered shape with a polished internal surface may be substituted for the baffle in the light housing. One or more trim rings of larger diameter than the recessed housing supported at the bottom of the housing or the light baffle and flush with the ceiling surface may give a finished appearance to the installation by covering the edge of the hole in the ceiling. In economy versions of such light fixtures the light baffle may be omitted and only a trim ring provided, leaving exposed to view the interior surface of the lamp housing. For purposes of this disclosure the term baffle includes both a light absorbent baffle as well as a light reflector. The terms xe2x80x9ctrim assemblyxe2x80x9d is meant to include either or both of a trim ring and a light baffle.
A lamp socket is supported on the trim assembly, either at the top end of the baffle or attached directly to the trim ring if the fixture has no baffle, and facing the open bottom of the housing, so that a lamp bulb can be inserted into the housing and fitted into the socket through the opening in the ceiling. It is conventional in the industry to provide a mounting bracket which supports the lamp socket on the trim assembly, and also supports the trim assembly to the housing. The lamp socket is seated in a socket opening in the mounting bracket and is held in place by a smaller lamp socket spring clip riveted to the top of the socket. The spring clip engages and interlocks with the larger mounting bracket. The mounting bracket in turn attaches to the outer housing of the recessed light fixture and so serves the dual purpose of supporting the lamp socket to the trim assembly (and lamp bulb) as well as supporting the ornamental trim assembly to the lamp housing.
The lamp socket spring clip is generally shaped as a inverted U. The top of the lamp socket is riveted to the horizontal midportion of the spring clip with two arms of the spring clip extending downwardly along either side of the lamp socket. This lamp socket assembly is secured to the mounting bracket by inserting the free ends of the two arms of the spring clip into corresponding cut-outs or openings defined in the mounting bracket. These cut-outs and openings are sized, shaped and positioned so that the arms of the retaining clip must be squeezed together to bring the arms into engagement with the mounting bracket and, once so engaged and released, the clip arms remain under spring tension to hold the lamp socket in place on the mounting bracket.
The subassembly consisting of the lamp socket, lamp socket spring clip, mounting bracket, light baffle if any, and trim ring, is inserted upwardly through the open bottom of the recessed outer housing of the in-ceiling fixture and held in place by conventional spring wires which interconnect the mounting bracket and the outer housing.
Once an in-ceiling fixture is installed it is costly to remove and replace. For this reason, it is common practice to update the appearance of installed fixtures by merely replacing the ornamental elements such as the light baffles and/or the trim ring, and thereby effectively achieve the appearance of a new fixture at modest cost. From an end user""s point of view it is therefore desirable that the trim assemblies of different manufacturers of recessed light fixtures be interchangeable so as to provide a wide selection of designs and features. To a large extent this is already the case because the housings of recessed fixtures are made in a number of standard diameters, and standard methods are used for mounting the trim assembly in the fixture housings.
However, in an effort to prevent the use of competing trim products, some manufacturers have adopted non-standard lamp socket spring clips for their lamp sockets which do not mate with the mounting brackets on trim assemblies of competing manufacturers. This artifice effectively restricts the choice of trim products to compatible product lines, forcing less than satisfactory choices in some cases, preventing the upgrading of existing installations in other cases, and forcing excessive expenditures in still other cases.
A need exists for a simple solution which will enable easy and low cost retrofitting of ornamental trim assemblies in existing in-ceiling light fixture installations without concern for the type of lamp socket spring clip found in the existing installation.
Addressing the aforementioned need the present invention provides a universal adapter bracket which replaces the conventional mounting bracket previously used for supporting the lamp socket in the trim assembly of in-ceiling recessed light fixtures. The novel adapter bracket is attached as by riveting to the trim assembly, either to the light baffle or directly to a trim ring. The adapter bracket has first and second retaining portions respectively engageable to a retaining clip of a first type or a second type for securing a lamp socket to the adapter bracket.
In a presently preferred form of the invention the adapter bracket has a midportion supported between two arms, each of the arms having a free end engageable to the trim assembly. A socket hole is provided in the midportion for inserting a lamp socket through the adapter bracket. The first and second retaining portions of the adapter bracket are preferably defined in the midportion. For example, the first retaining portions may be defined by two end cuts of a socket hole, each end cut adapted to receive one end of a spring clip of the first type, the end cuts being on longitudinally opposite sides of the socket hole along a first imaginary diameter line connecting the two arms of the adapter bracket. The second retaining portions of the bracket may be defined by two openings on transversely opposite sides of the socket hole along a second imaginary diameter line transverse to the first imaginary diameter line. The retaining portions include edge portions defined by the cut-outs and the openings, shaped and sized so as to receive and hold portions of the spring clips when the free ends of the spring clip arms are squeezed together and inserted into the corresponding cut-outs and openings. The retaining portions of the adapter bracket are spaced apart such that the free ends of the spring clips remain under spring tension thereby keeping the spring clips in retentive engagement with the adapter bracket. The retaining portions are arranged so that only one spring clip can be engaged to the bracket and an election between the two sets of retaining portions must be made according to the type of spring clip to be attached to the bracket.
That is, the first retaining portions includes spring clip retaining edges spaced apart by a first distance on the adapter bracket, and the second retaining portions include spring clip retaining edges spaced apart on the adapter bracket by a second distance substantially different from the first distance, such that lamp socket spring clips of different sizes may be engaged to the adapter bracket in one or the other of the first and second retaining portions.
More specifically, a first set of retaining portions is defined by a pair of cut-outs provided on diametrically opposed sides of the socket hole for accepting one type of retaining clip in a first diametric orientation across the socket opening. A second set of retaining portions is defined by a pair of openings provided on diametrically opposed sides of the socket hole for accepting another type of retaining clip in a second diametric orientation transverse to the first diametric orientation.
Consequently, a retaining clip of either type may be assembled and retained on the adapter bracket, the assembled positions of the different type clips being transverse to each other on the bracket. This in turn permits a trim assembly equipped with the novel adapter bracket of this invention to be installed, i.e. retrofitted, into an existing recessed lighting fixture installation without concern for which of the two types of lamp socket spring clip is found in the existing fixture.
In the presently preferred form of the invention the midportion of the adapter bracket includes a central portion which extends between and interconnects the two arms of the adapter bracket, and two side walls generally transverse to the central portion. For example, the adapter bracket may be a one-piece sheet metal stamping and the side walls may be each joined to the central portion along a corresponding bend line of the sheet metal. The first retaining portions of the bracket are defined in the aforementioned central portion while the second retaining portions are defined partly in the central portion and partly in the side walls.
These and other features, advantages and improvements of the present invention will be better understood by reference to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings.